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Bognor water level

River gauge, Aldingbourne Rife, West Sussex, United Kingdom

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Right now

Low for mid-October

Surface elevation

-0.23m Down 0.06 m over the last 24 hours

0 1 Highest onrecord 1.14 m Lowest on record -0.57 m

History

History
-0.5-0.30.00.3mOct 12Oct 13Oct 15Oct 17Oct 19Bottom of normal range-0.5-0.30.00.3mOct 12Oct 15Oct 19Bottom of normal range
-0.5-0.30.00.3mSep 19Sep 26Oct 4Oct 11Oct 19Bottom of normal range-0.5-0.30.00.3mSep 19Oct 4Oct 19Bottom of normal range
-01mOct 2025Jan 2026Apr 2026Jul 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range-01mOct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range
-01mJanMarMayJulSepNov2026-01mJanAprJulOct2026

20252026

Surface elevation Normal range (10–90 %) Top of normal rangeBottom of normal range

What this means

At −0.23 m, the Aldingbourne Rife at Bognor is below normal for mid-October.

The median for mid-October is −0.05 m, based on 14 years of readings, so the river level is 0.18 m below typical. On the same day last year the reading was −0.09 m, a difference of −0.14 m.

The level is falling, down 0.06 m over the past 24 hours. Without real rain upstream, that is unlikely to change quickly. Over the past 30 days it has moved between −0.31 m and −0.01 m.

Autumn rain usually starts to lift rivers again after the summer low.

Compared with 14 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date
−0.05 m0.18 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date
−0.23 m – 0.30 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (14 years of records)
Normal range
−0.55 m – 1.25 m
Same day last year
−0.09 m−0.14 m
Lowest and highest in 30 days
−0.31 m – −0.01 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months
−0.21 m – 1.06 m
Highest on record
1.14 mFebruary 15, 2014
Lowest on record
−0.57 mApril 24, 2016

On the river at Bognor

Low, clear water makes fish wary, and anglers often do better early and late in the day. For canoeists, shallow riffles mean scraped hulls and the odd portage.

Flood warnings for the area come from the Environment Agency.

Weather at the gauge

Rain in the last 3 days: 4.9 mm. Rain that falls upstream can take hours or days to show up at a river gauge.

17 Sat 14° 6° – Wind 20 km/h
18 Sun 14° 8° 1.9 mm, 43% Wind 23 km/h
19 Mon 14° 9° 2.4 mm, 53% Wind 16 km/h
20 Tue 14° 10° 2.1 mm, 50% Wind 14 km/h
21 Wed 14° 9° 1.5 mm, 63% Wind 28 km/h
22 Thu 14° 6° 24 mm, 72% Wind 26 km/h
23 Fri 14° 8° 29 mm, 78% Wind 40 km/h

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:32 AM Sunset 06:04 PM Daylight 10 hr, 32 min First quarter 55%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Chichester Tozer WayRiver gauge, River Lavant 12.68 m Very low +0.03 m 8.4 km
GraylingwellRiver gauge, River Lavant −0.03 m Lowest on record ±0 9.0 km
ArundelRiver gauge, River Arun 0.68 m Normal −0.56 m 10 km
Bosham Moreton RoadRiver gauge, Bosham Stream 0.21 m Normal ±0 14 km
Houghton BridgeRiver gauge, River Arun 0.35 m Lowest on record −0.47 m 14 km
Ferring OutfallRiver gauge, River Arun −3.45 m Lowest on record ±0 15 km
HardhamRiver gauge, River Rother 0.23 m Normal ±0 20 km
WestbourneRiver gauge, River Ems 0.05 m Low ±0 20 km

Questions and answers

Is the Aldingbourne Rife at Bognor higher than last year?

No, it is 0.14 m lower than on the same day last year, when the reading was −0.09 m.

What is a normal level for the Aldingbourne Rife at Bognor in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is −0.05 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between −0.23 m and 0.30 m, based on 14 years of records.

Is Bognor really −0.23 m deep?

No. −0.23 m is the height of the water surface above sea level (or the agency's vertical datum), not the depth of the water.

What is the water level of Bognor today?

On 19 Oct 2026, 04:30 BST, the surface elevation was −0.23 m. Down 0.06 m over the last 24 hours.

Is Bognor rising or falling?

Down 0.06 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.17 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of Bognor normal?

Low for mid-October. Compared with 14 years of daily readings for this time of year.

What is the highest water level ever recorded at Bognor?

The highest level on record is 1.14 m on February 15, 2014. The lowest is −0.57 m on April 24, 2016.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
Environment Agency
Station code
ea:E10943 (Agency page)
Coordinates
50.79746, -0.66790 (WGS84)
Vertical datum
ODN
Update interval
every 15 minutes
Licence
Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Environment Agency data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0

Published series

ParameterLast valueTime (UTC)Quality
Surface elevation −0.23 m 2026-10-19 03:30 Provisional

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How to cite

Environment Agency: Bognor (ea:E10943). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-kingdom/west-sussex/bognor

How we check values

Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.